THE GOOD, GOOD SHEPHERD
“My Provider, Guide, and Restorer!”
10/27/24
Psalms 23:1-4 “23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
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This is not just a psalm to die by, it’s a psalm to live by!
It describes to us in beautiful, pictorial imagery from the eyes of a true shepherd (David) the care of a shepherd for his sheep.
It is a verse by verse metaphor for how our Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, cares for us!
So let’s look today at the first 3 verses.
In verse one, David points out that:
I. God is a faithful Provider!
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (I have all I need).
Notice how David makes sure we know that God is not just “A” shepherd, He is “MY” shepherd!
He’s bragging on God here—proud to say that God is HIS shepherd, HIS God!
And the first thing he wants to brag on God about is the way He faithfully provides for his needs.
Jesus repeatedly spoke of the Heavenly Father in the same way:
Matt. 6:8,26 “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him…26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”
In the same chapter He commands us 4 times not to worry, and shows that most every worry we have is over a provision issue—what you will wear, eat, and drink.
And he adds that we also worry over things we can’t control or change, like our height.
And he also adds that we worry about tomorrow, what it will bring.
So the Lord says: Don’t live life worrying—it solves nothing, and only adds to your pain!
The Good, Good Shepherd will take care of you!
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Then in verse 2 David describes how:
II. God leads us to places of rest and refreshment
It says, “He makes me lie down…”
God does not DRIVE us till we break down—He LEADS us at a healthy pace with rest stops along the way!
Our habit is to go full throttle till we break down or fizzle out.
We don’t truly rest for several reasons.
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Philip Keller (in A Shepherd Looks at Psalms 23) writes that sheep do not lie down easily and will not do so unless four conditions are met.
—Because they are timid, they will not lie down if they are AFRAID.
—Because they are social animals, they will not lie down if there is FRICTION among the sheep.
—If flies or PARASITES trouble them, they will not lie down.
—And if sheep are ANXIOUS about food or hungry, they will not lie down.
So because Jesus—as our Good Shepherd—relieves us of our fears, friction, flies, and spiritual famine, we’re able to rest in His peace!
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So verse 2 is not saying God forces you to rest, it’s saying that under His care you’re so well fed you are content to rest.
The “Green pastures” means the very best grass for grazing—not spiritual junk food, but the rich pasture land of His word!
And “Still waters” points to the peaceful Presence of the Holy Spirit living within you!
John 4:14 “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
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And the result of resting in the green pastures and still waters is “He restores my soul.”
RESTORES can have the idea of the rescue of a lost one, as in a straying sheep brought back.
He ‘restores my soul’ can also mean ‘brings me to repentance for salvation.”
The idea is that He restores our soul back to its original purity!
This is one type of healing mentioned in Isaiah 53,
“With His stripes we are healed (53:5)”—from the damage sin did to our soul!
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So far in psalm 23 we see Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—as our PROVIDER, our RESTORER…
And next:
III. Our Guide
He guides us onto the right road…
David says, “He leads me in righteous paths for His names sake.”—vs.3
In the gospels Jesus talks about a lot of things in twos:
two houses,
two commandments,
two eternal destinations,
two kingdoms,
two masters,
two gates, and
two roads…
The 2 roads have two results:
One leads to death and destruction,
And the other leads to life everlasting.
THAT is the road the good, good shepherd places you on!—“He leads me down the right road!”
You see, this very moment:
God cares what ROAD you’re traveling on,
what PATH you’ve chosen,
which WAY you’re going, and
where your ROAD is going to take you!
ILLUS: GPS to an empty lot—“you have arrived at your destination!”
—Every road the world offers leads to an empty lot!
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Here’s God’s promise:
Ps. 37:23 “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
The good, good Shepherd steers His sheep onto the narrow road that leads to life!
And the psalm says that, when you’re on the right road, it brings delight to God—we could say it makes God happy!
So not only does the Shepherd PROVIDE for us,
and LEAD us to lie down and rest,
He also DIRECTS OUR STEPS onto the right road!
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The verse ends with four powerful words: “For His name’s sake.”
Everything God does is for His glory.
He answers PRAYER for His glory: “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.”—John 14:13
He receives glory through our GOOD WORKS: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”—Matt 5:16
All that we do should be done to bring glory to God:
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”—1 Cor 10:31
We’re even to glorify God by with our body by giving them to Him:
“For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”—1 Cor 6:20
Even when we produce the fruit of the Spirit, it is for God’s ultimate glory:
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”—John 15:8
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And did you know that God’s glory is what will light up heaven!
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”—Rev 21:23
So the Good Shepherd leads us onto a righteous path for His name’s sake—for His glory!
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God saves and delivers people like you and me because WE KNOW we can’t take credit for what He’s done!
1 Cor. 1:26-29 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
“I am the Lord! That is my name, and I will not give my glory to anyone else;”—Isaiah 42:8
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SUMMARY:
The good Shepherd—PROVIDES for us, RESTORES our soul, and LEADS US down the right road!
NEXT TIME: The Shepherd of The Valley!